Drop the Last 15!!!

Ok ladies here we are! This will be are new meeting place. If either of you have any suggestions for our program throw them out there. Ok a few more days to weigh in so stick with it this week and let's see what we can do.

Good morning Susan and Angel! I figured I would check in before my day got going! My exercise for the day is going to be another 4 mile walk and then some weights. I think for food I am going to have my cereal and milk with strawberries this morning and then some fruit for a snack before lunch. Lunch today will be a salad with turkey cheese and some lite dressing and some lite wheat thins. Dinner not so sure yet what I am going to make but it will be something good. I am trying to eat like Susan said smaller meals and just fill them in through the day with some healthy snacks it is just sometimes hard with little ones to eat that often. Well I hope you both have a great day and I will check in later to see how you both are doing. Have a great day!

Morning!! I found you!!! You're food for the day sounds delish! I too had some cereal this morning, but got derailed somewhat while making a cake for my friends bday. hehe...she's a real 'hotdog' nut, and I once saw a cake made to look like a hotdog....so thats what ds and I made!!! It turned out pretty good, just like the picture if'n I do say so!! Thank goodness, I'll just drop it off at her house later on.....none for me thankyou!!! Dh has been away all week on a conference, so ds has been sticking to me like glue!! My oldest has been away at a 3 week course (*sigh* I miss him terribly....) but comes home on Saturday!!! He called me this morning while doing his laundry!!! hehe...Thats the best skill I've taught him so far. Less for me to do. I'll check back later. tc

Hi, found you both! It's killing me that the sun has been shining all day and I could have had my leaky steps area drying out, but they predicted rain later and I have to train a man with arthritis tonight so I didn't want to take a chance of not being home in time, covered the whole area with the duct taped garbage bags. Sigh. Guess I won't be able to dry it out until Saturday when I am home.

Woke at 3:30 worried about flooding and couldn't go back to sleep so hemmed a pair of really nice linen pants from the Gap that I got at the thrift store, sewed a button on a jacket, and then went back to bed. Then of course, I couldn't wake up in time to work out, so I hope I have the energy to at least work out at the gym tonight after my client is finished. Don't know about you both, but I'm finding as I lose weight, the local thrift store has been a godsend. Paying $4 for a pair of nice pants...and hoping they'll be too big in a few weeks...is a great deal. Luckily I work in a "posh" area of town so the stuff at the store is generally good quality and in good shape.

My eating has been good, and I've been using my new weapon...chewing gum! Sometimes I just crave having something in my mouth, and I'm finding that if I remember to do it, chewing gum is a great solution. Had my usual oatmeal with yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast; lunch was stir fried kale with chicken and peanuts, and tonight's dinner will be a big salad with cheese.

Well girls I had another good day! I just finished my walk and the food was good all day! Angel are you sure your best friend is not my husband because he could live on hotdogs everyday if he had his way. You have to let me know how to make that cake because his b-day is coming in August and that would be perfect. Susan I hope you sleep better tonight. It is nice to get cloths at the thrift store especially when they will be to big in a month. I chew gum also when a craving hits I also find that going to brush my teeth helps. I think your right though anything to keep the mouth moving and distract you. I was wondering if you had any specific exercises I could do at home for my lower body. I am what would be considered a classic pear shape and I would love to lose some of the bottom half. I would love some exercises for my glutes thighs and hip area. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I have access to free weights, a step, and a stability ball. Well I am off to take a shower and then some relaxing with my hubby before bed. Have a good night!

Welll, here I am, another pear, Tina! I do alot of squats. I mean alot! I use my step for that. I do 15-20 squats standing on one side of the step, then 15-20 with one foot on the step, the other on the floor, then 15-20 with the step between my legs so that I am squatting wide, then reverse with the other leg on the step, and finally, squats on the other side of the step with my legs together. Squeeze your butt as you go up each time. Remember with a squat to go back with your weight on your heels as if you are going to sit, and never bend so far forward that your knees are over your toes; they should be over your shoelaces. You can put your arms out as you go down for balance, and as you get better at it, hold small weights. Because of my bad knee, I don't do lunges, but they are good also....lunging forward, back and to the side.

For the backside, the best proven exercise there is to go down on hands and knees and lift one leg up, bent knee, 10-12 times, then repeat with the other. Do it slowly. Another is to use your step.... lying with your feet on the step, (and a few risers underneath), raise your butt in the air, squeezing it while making a bridge, making sure not to arch your back, do it slowly, going up and down. That works the fat in the area between your butt and the tops of your thighs.

Last night was good for me...got on the elliptical for 25 minutes, then some other funky machine, and I didn't eat anything extra. In fact, I wasn't very hungry for dinner so had some cheese on Wasa bread, and a bowl of fresh fruit at work, then an orange when I got home from the gym. Since I always have raw veggies in the afternoon, I wasn't too worried about missing my salad.

Angel, that hotdog cake sounds great! I bet it was well received. How did your day go?

Good morning ladies! Thank you for the suggestions Susan. I will try them tommorow when I do my lower body work. I don't have a bad knee and lunges kill mine so I can imagine how they would feel to you. Glad to hear you had a good day yesterday. I can't believe that tommorow is Friday already. I was really excited to weigh-in until I woke up with my period and that changed it all. I will still weigh I just don't expect to see any loss since I usually bloat up but the good news is it will be a good weigh in the next week. Susan I see me and you have the same amount of weight to lose. At least I think that is were I want to be I am not sure yet. I am afraid when I get there I will still not like what I see and need to lose a few more. I am a bit nervous I have to say about the weekend and holiday coming. This Sat. is my birthday and then the fourth we are going to a family party. I do remember though last year on my birthday my husband took us to Applebee's and I ordered off the weight watchers menu and had a tiny piece of cake he made. I am pretty determined to do this so hopefully the stubborn disaplined person will come out. I just know that I want to really try and then see how I do. Angel it sounds like things are going good for you. I know what you mean though about missing your kids. My son was just gone for the week last week and I missed him like crazy. It has to be hard with your husband and son both gone. How old are your children? Well for today I have planned another walk this evening and some weights since I skipped them yesterday. Food wise I am thinking cereal and strawberries for breakfest some fruit or raw veggies in between for snack and lunch will be another salad with turkey. Dinner will be grilled pork chops with baked potatoes and some cottage cheese. I think I forgot to tell you both that my husband is the pickest eater in the world so I have a hard time with meals. Well good luck to you both today! Have a wonderful day!

Hey ladies,
I'd like to join this little thread of yours. First i though i'd give you a little background on me. 2 years ago i lost about 40 lbs (175 to 135) on a really low calorie diet (doctor supervised but unhealthy and unrealistic nonetheless). I lost it in about 3 months and all i had to show for it was a smaller body. I hadn't learned anything and the minute i "took a break" from my low calories i gained weight. I would have weeks when i was losing were i would lose 5 pounds (midway through, not just during the first week) but then when i went back to my old habits i'd gain 5 lbs in a week. I was living in fear that it would all come back on. And eventually it did.

So there i was 2 years later with even more weight to lose. But this time i am taking my time and i am not going to extremes just to see a big drop for one week. I am constantly asking myself if this is something that i can maintain for my lifetime.

So now i've got a little under 20 lbs left to lose and it's not easy. For one thing, i'm pretty happy with where i'm at right now. I've hit the point where a lot of people are commenting on my lose and they're even talking about it when i'm not there. And i appreciate all their kind words, i really do but i can't help but feel both satisfied about where i am and also like i'm under some kind of a microscope. I liked flying under the radar. Now i feel more pressure to succeed (aka, pressure "not to fail") than i did before.

Exercise has been my absolute secret weapon. I work out twice a week with a trainer and then get about 3-5 cardio sessions in during the week. But lately, with this sticky warm weather i'm seeing my motivation waiver. It's getting harder and harder to get up in the morning to go for a run, and it's getting easier and easier to rationalize buying frozen yogurt to cool me off. I haven't gone off the wagon or anything but i've definitely become less focused and a bit less driven. I need to psych myself up for these last 15-20 lbs. I don't mind if they take me months to lose, i just want to keep doing what it is that got me here. The cravings are starting to sneak back in, but i've beaten them before and i will beat them again...right?? hehe.

DC, what about biking in the morning instead of running, just for a change of pace, and changing your other cardio? If you belong to a gym, maybe take in a kickboxing class, or a biking class, or mini trampoline. Something that would be fun and different and challenge you in a different way, and keep your incentive going. And it is hard to keep up the momentum for long periods of time. Perhaps give yourself a rest week, where you cut back on the intensity of your workouts with your trainer and go for toning rather high resistence. You may be overtraining, and that will eventually take its toll. Cut back to three cardio, and again, vary the type. Make it fun. Go for a hike on the weekend with friends, or again, biking. It's summer...how about swimming for cardio?

Welcome DC! The more the better! That is one more person to keep us on the road to losing! I feel alot of what you are saying. I called it getting cocky when I hit the weight I am at now. Everybody would say how good I looked and how skinny I was getting well what I forgot to remember was they were used to me being really heavy so to them I probably am skinny. I also have people who say I should be done I have lost enough. All's I can say is I know when I will be done because I will look in the mirror and see this is the best it is going to get. I think you will find that the other girls are really motivating and Susan has some great exercise ideas. I don't know if you want to do this but we weigh-in on Fridays and we sort of up-date each other daily on our progress for the day. I think together we will do this. Have a good day!

OK it's Friday and I weighed in at 160. Guess the 159 was a blip on the radar screen. My scale (and weight) yo-yo's one or two pounds during the week, but as long as it doesn't really go up I'm not concerned. I did eat out last night...had a spicey salmon salad at a japanese restaurant, which I thought would be nice and safe....turned out it was raw salmon in some kind of sauce over rice noodles and vegetables. I would have been better off with just sushi. But other than that, I was really good...and what I like about this restaurant...they serve orange slices for dessert, which was very satisfying. However, by the time it was over it was after 8, and I try not to eat so late....what is it people say....after 8, close the gate....? Today I hope to stick to my planned meals.....kale and chicken for lunch, and salad for dinner, with fresh fruit and cut veggies in between. Walked two miles early this am.

I've planned my menus for next week so I can go food shopping tonight....chicken and bulgar and mixed vegetables, and tortellini and vegetables in a yogurt sauce. Those will be my main lunch meals, with salads for dinner.

Good morning ladies! Well I am really happy to report that I lost 1 pound this week. I was really suprised since I have my period and all but I have been really good this week with eating and exercise has been awesome. I just have some lower body work to do today and I am taking a break from cardio today. Friday I am usually worn out and I clean all day so I figure going up and down the stairs a million times has to count for something. I am going to try my hardest to behave over the weekend. I think seeing though that all my hard work paid off I will have a easier time sticking to it. I have some friends coming over tommorow night so I will have to be sure to eat a nice filling dinner so I don't snack all night. I hope you all have a nice weekend. Susan did the rain finally stop for you? Everyone keep up your good work! We have not even been at this a whole week so next week should be even better! Have a nice day!

Hey ladies,
Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I think you guys are right about changing up my cardio a bit. Bike riding is a great idea. I'm actually going down the shore this weekend (Ocean City, yeah, i'm a born and raised Jersey Girl). We do a lot of bike riding on the boardwalk while we're there. I don't belong to a gym so i don't have access to classes but i do have some dvd's at home that i like and i'm a tennis player so i really should just set up a weekly tennis date with someone. The yucky humidity discourages me sometimes but it's beautiful today so that helps me realize that it's can't be humid EVERYDAY this summer...can it???

One of my other goals has also been to take my running outside. I'm a treadmill girl and rarely run outside. There's a bunch of bike/jog paths by my house. I just have to run a bit to get to them and they're really nice. But sometimes i'm not always comfortable running early or late on my own. I always tell my boyfriend "i'm small, i could get stolen". But since the sun is coming up nice and early now and it's staying light till almost 8 pm now i should feel a lot more comfortable.

Anyway, i'm trying to get through my frozen yogurt craving. Sometimes i forget all the work i put in to get me here and forget that to stay here i have to keep working just as hard. I start feeling like a little ice cream won't hurt, or skipping a workout won't hurt. And while that's true in the short term, if i let it become a habit, or use it as an excuse to become complacent, it will hurt me in the long run. Sometimes i feel entitled to my new body, but i have to remind myself that earned it and i have to continue to earn it or i will "earn" back the body i had before.

So anyway, this weekend into next week is nice and busy. I"m heading to NYC for 2 days then down to Ocean City, NJ for 3 days. It will be somewhat challenging, but i've planned for it.

Re-evaluating our motivation is good practice. It won't always be about a lower number on the scale and we will need to find other ways to keep us going even when we find ourselves just were we want to be.

Hi girls.....well I wasn't so lucky afterall......my week long sore throat DID turn into a full blown strep throat!!! I finally went to the urgent care yesterday and was given antibiotics. On a positive note though.....DS IS HOME FROM COLLEGE!!!! I swear, he has grown and matured. Is that possible in only 3 weeks? hehe..... 3 weeks is a long time to be away from MOM!!!! He def. had a great time and now its back home, back to house rules etc etc.....I'm trying to let him have his 'independence' as well but after his all night party (no sleep at all) I did put my foot down and insist he get 4 hours sleep yesterday afternoon when we got back from the drive. Food and excercise has been almost non-existent all week but once these meds are over and my throat is not swollen and infected .....I'LL BE BACK on track for sure!!! Sorry I was MIA all week.

Hi people! Not sure how to say this, but I had a difficult situation this past week....ended up having a stroke as I was leaving work this past Friday, called 911, and ended up in the hospital. Guess strokes don't respect people with good blood pressure, low cholesterol, and who don't drink smoke or carouse (sp?). Thank goodness it was a very small stroke...after much testing they let me go home last night, and my son flew in from California to be with me til Thursday. As for treatment, two aspirin a day. Being in the hospital made me really think about how I want my life to be going forward...I've already had breast cancer---8 years ago---and now this. I think it's time I really start living my life the way I want it to be. Don't think I want anymore wake up calls.

Anyhow, being in the hospital and eating hospital food put me back down to 159....but I am not supposed to do anything but rest for the rest of the week until I see my gp on Thursday, so I am going to have to be really careful with my eating.

Angel, hope your throat is ok by now. And how nice to be able to enjoy your son again. DC, hope you had a fabulous time in NY and it looks like the weather is cooperating for your OC visit; and Tina, congrats on the weight loss.